Dear Staff:

Thank you for continuing to adapt, support and learn along with your students and colleagues during this time of transition for Saint Paul Public Schools and school districts around the state and country. This continues to be a school year like no other, and you have proven that SPPS is up to the challenge. Thank you.

I am sharing the below message that was shared with school leaders last week. It is all of our responsibility to do our parts to help keep SPPS schools open safely.

In Partnership,

Joe Gothard, Superintendent

As we all know, community spread of COVID-19 directly impacts the spread within our schools.

We all have personal responsibility to keep our buildings and community safe for students, families and staff. What we do both in and outside of school helps our whole community stay healthy and learn safely.

Last week, SPPS began a “Help Keep Our Schools Open Safely” communications campaign to highlight this shared responsibility with messaging to both our families and staff. Part of the internal campaign is a new form that staff can use to submit safety concerns they may have in our buildings.

In order to address any concerns being raised, SPPS needs information to track and adequately and efficiently resolve the issues reported. Coordination and collaboration is necessary to create safer and healthier learning environments for our students and staff members.

I encourage staff to first work with your school leaders -- specifically your principal, supervisor or site COVID contact -- to address health and safety concerns.

If additional assistance is needed, or if the issue requires district-level support, we ask that staff complete this form. Staff who complete the form will receive a reply within 24 hours. School administrators will be included in communications, when necessary, to assist in resolving the concerns.

It is critical to gather the necessary details to empower and allow our building leaders to remedy concerns, respond directly to the staff member and document the resolution. While we may not find the perfect solution for each concern that everyone will agree to, our plan will continue to align with guidance from MDE’s Safe Learning Plan and our local health experts.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact your supervisor.

Thank you for doing your part to keep our students, families, colleagues and community safe.